For those of you who know me well, you'll know that I love journaling. I love it so much that I have about 30+ journals totally filled up at this point in time. And, because of this hobby of mine, I always have a stash of a few brand new ones for whenever I end up finishing one. (They're so fun and so cute and I get so excited buying them.)
For those of who you know me really, really well, you'll know that I have two sets of journals: day-to-day journals that keep up with our family's happenings and what the kids are up to, and then I keep, what I call, a "scripture journal". This scripture journal is where I put all of my thoughts on the scriptures I've been reading, anything I want to remember in sacrament or any other meeting I may attend, and I also write down what I can remember from any Priesthood blessing I receive. These scripture journals are my way of remembering the things I've learned (I'm SO forgetful) and it also helps me to ponder/digest what I've just read. Another perk I get from keeping a scripture journal is that it helps me to study and expands my understanding of how I can "liken" the scriptures to my present, everyday situations.
My scripture journal entries have taken a HARD hit this year, but today I felt prompted to study my scriptures alongside my scripture journal. Just to give you some context, since the Come Follow Me program, my Book of Mormon reading has basically been nonexistent, but while I was at the temple a week ago, I felt super strongly that the chaos in my life would be more manageable if I began to read the Book of Mormon again.... daily! (I'm sure I don't have to explain why my life is chaotic. But just in case you don't know, 3 kids + being pregnant = chaos).
And so I gave myself a challenge, much like President Nelson's challenge to the women of the church last October's General Conference. I decided that I was going to finish the Book of Mormon before the end of the year, starting last week. I did the math and that equaled to about 4.5 pages of reading a day. That didn't seem super overwhelming, so I've been giving it a go and LOVING it! And so have my kids because my patience and overall mood has definitely improved. (It's funny now, but it wasn't so funny a week and a half ago when I threw a brush across the room and almost hit my kids. *insert wide eyed emoji here*)
So I finally got some down time to myself and read my 5 (ish) pages for the day. After I finished reading I went back to 1 Ne 17 because there were a couple of things that I wanted to write about in my journal. This what I'm going to share with you today. And I'm going to write literally word for word what I wrote in my journal. I'm not going to edit or alter anything. Talk about being vulnerable! (Mark would die if he knew I was doing this, because he knows that I feel so violated any time anybody reads/tries to read any of my journals. But, before I change my mind, here we go!)
***This entry is now from yesterday because I thought I would be able to send this off the same day I wrote it, but my computer died and my cord got eaten by our devil cat Kobe when we lived in Beazer and I've never replaced it so I had to wait for Mark to come home with his.
Just some context quick, this is where Nephi is instructed to build a ship in order for his family to cross the ocean to get to the promised land.
So I've noticed a couple of things here:
The point is, we all have different mountains that we need to climb and dedicate some effort to in order to receive even further (maybe even greater) truth and light that our Heavenly Father wants us so desperately to receive. I'm not saying that journaling is the way and only way to receive such blessings. It definitely works for me, but that's the whole point. I am me and you are you. So find what fits for you. Find a way to show Heavenly Father that you want to receive more light in your life. And sometimes that light is just reminding me of something I already know, but other times, I'm opened to a new perspective or new idea, and it's exciting! Find what your "mountain" is and try it! Put Him to the test! And let me know how it goes!My scripture journal entries have taken a HARD hit this year, but today I felt prompted to study my scriptures alongside my scripture journal. Just to give you some context, since the Come Follow Me program, my Book of Mormon reading has basically been nonexistent, but while I was at the temple a week ago, I felt super strongly that the chaos in my life would be more manageable if I began to read the Book of Mormon again.... daily! (I'm sure I don't have to explain why my life is chaotic. But just in case you don't know, 3 kids + being pregnant = chaos).
And so I gave myself a challenge, much like President Nelson's challenge to the women of the church last October's General Conference. I decided that I was going to finish the Book of Mormon before the end of the year, starting last week. I did the math and that equaled to about 4.5 pages of reading a day. That didn't seem super overwhelming, so I've been giving it a go and LOVING it! And so have my kids because my patience and overall mood has definitely improved. (It's funny now, but it wasn't so funny a week and a half ago when I threw a brush across the room and almost hit my kids. *insert wide eyed emoji here*)
So I finally got some down time to myself and read my 5 (ish) pages for the day. After I finished reading I went back to 1 Ne 17 because there were a couple of things that I wanted to write about in my journal. This what I'm going to share with you today. And I'm going to write literally word for word what I wrote in my journal. I'm not going to edit or alter anything. Talk about being vulnerable! (Mark would die if he knew I was doing this, because he knows that I feel so violated any time anybody reads/tries to read any of my journals. But, before I change my mind, here we go!)
***This entry is now from yesterday because I thought I would be able to send this off the same day I wrote it, but my computer died and my cord got eaten by our devil cat Kobe when we lived in Beazer and I've never replaced it so I had to wait for Mark to come home with his.
Just some context quick, this is where Nephi is instructed to build a ship in order for his family to cross the ocean to get to the promised land.
September 16, 2019
PSS: 1 Ne 17 **FYI, PSS stands for Personal Scripture Study. It's something I learned in Seminary and it just stuck.So I've noticed a couple of things here:
- Nephi is instructed to go to "the mountain" so he could receive further instructions from the Lord. The Lord doesn't just give Nephi the important/vital, personal revelation right then and there. Nephi has to follow a prompting (maybe?) or a first, smaller instruction (to put it on other words) before he received even greater instructions from the Lord that enable him and his family to follow the will of God.
---> So, I know that 'mountains' often equal/symbolize temples, but I don't think we should assume that it means only the temple every time. For me, lots of times my "mountains” are opening up my journal and studying, rather than just reading my scriptures. I get a prompting to do a proper scripture study, and then I receive even more insight by writing my thoughts down.
Take this specific journal entry, for example. When I first began my opening sentence of 'a few things I noticed from my readings', this whole topic that I just wrote about wasn't even one of the things that I was planning on highlighting. What this means then, to me, is that this is the Holy Ghost's way of reminding me how important it is for me to do my "proper scripture study" so that I can receive personal (and vital!) revelation on behalf of me and my family. I'm also feeling that I should write this on my blog, which is a random idea.
The treasures you find will always be worth the climb.
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